I am a Primitive Man
Chapter 403 – Pulling up the seedlings to help them grow Part 1
“Bang, bang…”
In the faint morning mist that hadn’t completely dissipated, a few bursts of sound came from within the Green Sparrow Tribe.
These were the reluctant groans the dried bamboo burning in the flames emitted.
“Let’s get to work!”
Holding a shovel bone, Han Cheng shouted to the crowd after digging out the first piece of earth.
His voice seemed somewhat mysterious or solemn despite the occasional crackling of firecrackers.
With his command, the prepared crowd immediately started working on the quiet earth.
Stone hoes and shovel bones danced, and the ground pre-planned with ropes soon changed beyond recognition.
After digging the first shovel bone, Han Cheng, having worked for a while, withdrew from the labor queue with his shovel bone, transitioning from a worker to an observer.
Compared to when Han Cheng first arrived here, the Green Sparrow Tribe now had many more rules.
Most of these were initiated by him without being too deliberate, and everything seemed to fall into place naturally.
In this gradual progression, the people of the Green Sparrow Tribe didn’t feel anything amiss; instead, they felt it was only natural.
This is similar to the recent ritual of breaking ground for building houses, led by Han Cheng as the shaman, which was an extension of his authority.
Things like this often seemed commonplace, but their effects were enormous over the long term.
Simply put, this was a way for him to strengthen and maintain his position.
As Shaman wandered around with the rabbit, he was mostly cheerful as long as Han Cheng and the Eldest Senior Brother were around.
Smiling makes one look younger. Although this saying wasn’t particularly accurate, Shaman did seem younger than before, with a much better spirit overall.
Of course, he was happy because since the Divine Child arrived, everything in the tribe had been changing for the better at a pace he had never dared imagine, progressing toward prosperity.
Faced with the increasingly prosperous tribe, his mood naturally improved.
As Shaman, with a smile on his face, watched the foundation being laid and the green brick walls being erected, the chief of the Green Tribe wore a worried expression.
He squatted on a stone, looking at the empty salt jar, appearing utterly powerless.
The salt jar was cleaner than his face.
This was obvious; it had already been rinsed three times with water. It would be strange if it weren’t clean.
Yet even so, after a while, the chief of the Green Tribe poured some water into it again, giving it a fourth rinse.
He held the salt jar earnestly, shaking it carefully. After a long while, he painstakingly poured a bit of water into a bowl, stirred it, and then eagerly took a sip.
However, the soup tasted no different from before, devoid of saltiness.
With a sigh of disappointment, the chief of the Green Tribe reluctantly finished his food.
Looking around at the other tribe members, they all seemed similarly unenthusiastic, lacking much appetite.
After over two years of indulging in salt without restraint, returning to days without salt was truly tormenting for them.
Suffering wasn’t just limited to their stomachs; it also affected their bodies. Many people felt they had lost strength and vitality compared to before.
They weren’t fools. Connecting the dots between the previous period of eating salt and their current state, they naturally understood that the lack of salt was the cause.
Just as Han Cheng had anticipated, those who had become vigorous after getting used to eating salt found it unbearable to return to their previous weakened state.
Finally, someone in the tribe couldn’t bear it anymore and started speaking up, suggesting that their chief should go to the prosperous tribe to exchange for some salt.
“^$%^!!”
Someone echoed in agreement.
Although the others didn’t speak, they looked at the chief expectantly.
The chief of the Green Tribe also wanted to make the exchange. However, he hesitated because the tribe had a relatively small number of animal skins and some other food items.
“^^&%*%*3…”
He swallowed a few mouthfuls of saliva and tried to placate the crowd…
Leaving the cave, the chief of the Green Tribe walked slowly around the tribe, his gaze searching the grass, landing on a type of wild grass that could produce many spikes.
This wasn’t the first time he had seen this wild grass. After learning that it could be exchanged for things in that other tribe, he began to value these inconspicuous wild grasses.
Especially after the wealthy tribe announced that salt would no longer be provided for free, his visits to these wild grasses became more frequent.
There used to be many of these wild grasses around the tribe. But two years ago, their numbers began to decline.
By this year, the decline was even more severe, with barely any left, not even half of the previous year’s amount.
Seeing this dwindling number and the wild grasses’ failure to produce spikes, the chief of the Green Sparrow Tribe felt very distressed.
Their tribe had been without salt for several days, so why weren’t these wild grasses producing spikes yet?
Not only did they fail to produce spikes, but they also didn’t grow; they looked the same today as they did yesterday.
This was truly frustrating.
Thinking like this, the chief of the Green Sparrow Tribe involuntarily grabbed a clump of wild grass.
Why weren’t they growing taller?
Feeling anxious, he unconsciously pulled on the wild grass.
Some rain had fallen these past few days, moistening the soil. His pull loosened the wild grass with little effort.
Feeling the sensation in his hand, the chief looked down and suddenly discovered, to his surprise, that the wild grass, which hadn’t grown tall no matter what, had suddenly shot up significantly after his tug.
Trapped by the lack of salt and eager to exchange for salt with wild grass spikes, the chief of the Green Sparrow Tribe stared at the visibly taller wild grass spikes, his eyes suddenly brightening as he couldn’t help but burst into laughter.
He moved to another clump of wild grass, bent down, and, using the same method, tugged it. This clump of grass also immediately shot up significantly.
As the sun gradually set, the chief of the Green Sparrow Tribe, feeling a bit sore from fatigue, looked at the noticeably taller wild grass swaying in the evening breeze. He couldn’t help but smile, his face full of joy at his cleverness.
Such a good idea had occurred to him; he was indeed very clever!
“￥32!”
Returning to the cave, he pounded his chest to announce to every one that soon they would be able to exchange wild grass spikes for salt…